For Tabitha Thorne, a junior at La Plata High School, her father’s accident last year has pointed her on a new career path, one that is leading her to represent her state at a national conference this year.

“It started when my dad got hurt, snapped his arm in half on a go-cart,” Thorne said of her father’s accident, in May 2015. “They had to put a rod and two screws in there. That’s when I altered my career plans.”

Now, Thorne said, the goal is to study orthopedic surgery.

Thorne, 17, of Newburg was recently named a delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders, which will meet June 25-27 in Lowell, Mass.

“This is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially,” Richard Rossi, executive director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists, said in a press release. “Focused, bright and determined students like Tabitha Thorne are our future and she deserves all the mentoring and guidance we can give her.”

Thorne was nominated by Dr. Richard Darling, medical director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists to represent Maryland based on her academic achievement, leadership potential and her “determination to serve humanity in the field of medicine,” according to a press release.

Thorne said she never met Darling, but thinks she came to his attention after being chosen as an ambassador to the National Society of High School Scholars last year.

Thorne is also a nominee for the Distinguished Alumni of the National Youth Leadership Forum of Medicine.

“First, we checked into it, because there are a lot of scams, but when we found out about it, I decided to apply,” Thorne said.

During the three-day conference, Thorne will attend talks at Harvard Medical School by Nobel Laureates and other leading medical professionals on the latest in medical research, cutting-edge medical practices and medical technology, and receive advice from Ivy League deans on what to expect in medical school, and other events, according to the press release.

“I’m really looking forward to sitting in on the surgery,” Thorne said. “That’s something other people might find gross, but I like it. I like how there’s always something new to learn in medicine. Once you hit a subject, there are always new things to learn about. It’s never a closed door.”

Thorne said she is considering applying to Randolph College in Lynchburg, Va., or the University of Central Florida and majoring in pre-medicine.

“Her father and I, her whole family are just very proud of her,” said her mother, Tammy Thorne. “She’s our rock star.”